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American Airlines and US Airways confirmed this week that they’ve offered up a pair of slots at London’s Heathrow Airport to allow some competitor to operate a daily nonstop flight between Philadelphia and Heathrow. European regulators are now sounding out other airlines about taking up the offer.

The story stirred up some dusty corners of my memory: Didn’t American previously own the rights to fly Philadelphia-London, back when you had to own not only the slots but the route authorities?

So I found the Dec. 16, 1990, press release from Trans World Airlines in which it announced it had an agreement to sell its London rights to American for $445 million. Earlier in 1990, TWA had agreed to sell its Chicago-London route authority including the right to fly to Heathrow. The new deal added New York, Boston, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Baltimore and, yes, Philadelphia to the list.

American did start service from Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and Boston to London Heathrow on July 1, 1991. However, the U.S. Department of Transportation didn’t allow the transfer of the Philadelphia, Baltimore and St. Louis routes, so TWA held onto those.

In 1993, American did win the right to fly between Philadelphia and Heathrow. It started the service in May 1994, but abandoned the route on April 1, 1995. It was competing against the marketing arrangement of British Airways and US Airways.

Subsequently, BA and US Airways split up; American Airlines and British Airways became partners and founding members of the Oneworld global airline alliance; the DOT granted AA and BA antitrust immunity to tightly knit their partnership; and then US Airways pursued and then realized a merger with American. That seems to complete the Circle of Life.

Of course, in 2001, American bought TWA including all its remaining route authorities and continued St. Louis-London Gatwick flights until 2003. In 2007, the European Union and the U.S. agreed to “open skies” between the U.S. and Europe. That allowed any U.S. carrier to fly to Heathrow beginning in 2008, as long as they could obtain the scarce operating slots needed to take off and land there.

In any case, American will once again have a PHL-Heathrow route after the merger to go along with British Airways’ two daily flights, as well as a daily flight operated by the third airline yet to be named.

The 1990 deal with TWA came about after United Airlines announced it was buying Pan American World Airways’ routes and Heathrow access. Those routes originally were owned by American Overseas Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines.

AA established AOA to handle international flights. AOA began transatlantic service in 1945. American sold AOA’s assets including London routes to Pan Am in 1950.

After American Airlines filed for bankruptcy, its ownership of a tony London townhouse came to light. Published reports, from Reuters, I think, quoted London real estate people as saying the property could sell for up to $30 million.

Of course, it quickly became the $30 million townhouse and became fodder for critics who held it up for an example of American’s spendthrift ways even as it was losing billions of dollars.

On Thursday, American filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking approval to sell the property for £14.15 million, or about $23 million at today’s exchange rates.

When the story originally broke about the townhouse’s existence, American declined to disclose the original price it paid for the property in the early 1990s. However,it has suggested that the property was purchased at a time when prices were much lower. One would guess that American, or the bankruptcy estate, is making a tidy profit on the townhouse.

“We are pleased with the proposed sale price of the London property, which is consistent with the appraised value of the property,” American spokesman Sean Collins said Thursday. “The proposed cash sale will enable American to realize immediate funds that will increase the pool of assets available for our creditors.”

In its filing, American said it had signed a deal with CG Property Nominees Ltd. on Wednesday to buy the property. American said it engaged a real estate agent to market the property in July, and received four offers.

“As part of their overall restructuring efforts, the Debtors continue to evaluate ways to maximize the value of their estates for the benefit of all parties in interest,” American said in the filing. “Upon an assessment of current and future needs, the Debtors have determined that the Property should be sold.”

In a statement, the Association of Professional Flight Attendants referred to the property as the “infamous London townhouse.”

“As so many of us will recall, this property continued to receive a great deal of attention from the onset of AA’s bankruptcy last November, and some questions about it remain unanswered to this day. In particular, we cannot help but wonder why the Company waited so long to sell the 5,200 sq. ft. luxury home,” the union said.

“Today’s motion indicates that with each additional month the Company owns the property ‘the Debtors could be subject to unnecessary maintenance costs and other fees…’ Of course, that did not prevent the Company from holding the property until July (conveniently following the Wimbledon Championships), when it was finally put on the market,” APFA added.

The deal requires American to pay a sales commission of 1.5 percent, or about $350,000 to the agent John D. Wood & Co., which will pay about 20 percent of that, or around $70,000 (my estimates) to American’s U.S. broker, Weston Commercial Realty. American’s British solicitors will get £29,000, or just over $47,000.